NEWSROOM
Be
Ready If You Need To ‘Grab And Go’; Pack ‘Evacuation
Box’ Now
May 24, 2006
You may not
be able to prevent hurricanes and storms that interrupt your routine
or destroy your home, but you can make plans to keep them from
disrupting everything, according to LSU AgCenter family economist
Dr. Jeanette Tucker.
The LSU AgCenter
expert says an "evacuation box" that’s ready to
"grab and go" is one item every household should have
to prevent financial disasters and other hardships.
"Last
year’s hurricanes emphasized the importance of emergency
preparedness and stressed that everyone should have individual
and family evacuation plans in place," Tucker said. "Although
every family’s emergency plans may be a little different,
there are a lot of common elements – and some sort of evacuation
‘to go’ box should be one of those elements."
Tucker says
the box or backpack, if you’d like, should contain items
you may need in an emergency – such as copies of important
papers, emergency cash or traveler’s checks, lists of emergency
phone numbers, safe deposit box keys and backups of computer records.
It should be packed and ready to "grab and go" in case
you need to evacuate, she says.
"Keep
the box somewhere in your home where you can get to it easily,"
Tucker says, adding, "Then if you must evacuate, keep the
box with you at all times."
Among the
items you’ll probably want to include are:
- Cash or
traveler’s checks to cover several days’ living
expenses, since power outages can make ATMs and debit cards
useless.
- Rolls of
quarters for vending machines, pay phones, coin laundries and
other needs.
- Emergency
phone numbers, including those to doctors, pharmacies, financial
advisers, clergy, repair contractors and family members. Don’t
forget to include cell phones of those who also may be away
from home!
- Copies
of prescriptions for medicines and eyeglasses, copies of children’s
immunization records and copies of medical, dental and prescription
insurance cards (or policy information).
- Copies
of auto, flood, renter’s and/or homeowner’s insurance
policies (or at least the policy numbers) as well as contact
information for your local agents and the company’s headquarters.
- Copies
of other important papers such as deeds, titles, wills, trust
documents, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, stock
and bond certificates, recent investment statements, home inventory,
birth certificates, death certificates, adoption certificates,
marriage certificates, passports and/or other identity documents,
employee benefit documents and federal and state tax returns
(at least the first two pages).
- Backup
copies of computerized financial records.
- Keys to
safe deposit box.
- Combination
to safe (if you have one).
- Negatives
or digital copies of irreplaceable personal photos.
- Computer
user names and passwords.
- Lists of
Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers,
driver’s license numbers, loan numbers, investment account
numbers and any other important numbers.
- List of
debt obligations, due dates of payments and contact information
for companies.
Tucker says
it’s also a good idea to place papers in sealed, waterproof
plastic bags. You can use any durable sealed container to hold
your items, although she says a portable, fireproof and waterproof
box or a waterproof backpack are recommended.
"Some
planning and a few relatively simple preparations can prevent
the unexpected from becoming even more disastrous," Tucker
says.
For additional
information about family financial matters or preparing for storms
and hurricanes, contact your parish LSU AgCenter Extension office
or visit www.lsuagcenter.com.
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